Smile Again
by BrokenByMagic
Summary: George is sitting in his room when his reflection starts talking to him in his mirror. What does he do when it turns out his reflection is giving him a message from his late brother, Fred saying to stop with the fake smiles.


George Weasley wasn't one to let his sorrows show, even to himself.

He was good at coping with pain, good at keeping it all in. He lived every day like he was happy, which he was, but inside he wished for the day to end so that Tomorrow could come.

He hated waiting for the day to end, it went by so slow.

He loved Tomorrows, tomorrows were something he understood, Tomorrows were familiar. You could always be optimistic with Tomorrows.

So the day when his mirror came to life, his view changed.

He was looking into it with a blank expression after a long day at the joke shop, marveling at how when he forced a smile, it looked real when the mirror suddenly frowned at him sternly, "What are you doing George?"

George cried out in surprise, "Fred? Is that you?"

His reflection looked sadly disappointed, "No Forge, I'm just a figment of your imagination that you needed to tell you something that Fred would have."

George frowned, "That's makes me sound insane though…"

His reflection which was decidedly not Fred laughed somewhat bitterly, "Yeah, like you haven't ever been told you were barmy before."

George smiled and shook his head in wonder, "So what did I want to tell myself Fred would have told me?"

His reflection looked him in the eye, "Stop that."

George frowned, confused, "Stop what?"

"That bloody fake smile! Stop that, it's not bloody real!" George scowled at his reflection.

"Don't you think I know it's not real? Its hard being like I used to be, you try losing your brother!" He pointed at the mirror accusingly as he spoke.

His reflections face contorted in anger, "I DID, YOU RIGHT GIT! I LOST ALL OF YOU, I SEE YOU ALL BUT NONE OF YOU SEE ME! I CANT BE THERE FOR YOU WHEN YOU NEED SOMEONE TO HOLD YOU! I CANT HOLD GINNY AND TELL HER EVERYTHING WILL BE ALFIGHT, I CANT KNOCK RON OUT FOR GETTING ALL MOPEY OVER ME. I CANT TELL PERCY TO LIGHTEN UP AND I CANT TELL CHARLIE TO KEEP STRONG OR BILL CONGRADULATIONS THE WAY HE DESERVES TO BE TOLD FOR BEING THE FIRST OF THE WEASELYS TO HAVE A KID. I CANT EVEN TELL MUM TO STOP CRYING AND I CANT TELL DAD IM OK, OR IM HAPPY BECAUSE IM NOT BECAUSE MY BLOODY GIT OF A BROTHER HAS FORGOTTEN HOW TO BLOODY FRIGGIN SMILE!"

George staggered back and sat on his bed, "All of that?"

His reflection sighed and nodded, "I'm happy other than all of that to be honest, but… All I ever wanted was to make people happy and sure, you're making other people happy but what about you Georgie? Why don't you try to be happy?"

George sighed and ran his hand through his vibrant red hair, "Its hard Gred, Its hard without you here to smile and be happy. I feel… I fell like if I'm happy, and I mean truly happy not just a little bit, I'm going to be betraying you."

His reflection sat on the bed as well and George could have sworn he felt a warm across his shoulders like if someone had just draped his arm over his back.

"Forge, I'm happy so long as you are happy. When you are sad, I'm bloody heartbroken alright? I want you to be happy, to live the life I didn't get to. I want you to be bloody over the moon when you get don't on one knee to propose to Angelina and I swear George I will come back to haunt you if you aren't."

George felt tears falling down his face as he looked at his reflection smiling at him sadly, "I'll tell them all. I'll tell them to be happy. I'll be happy too, I promise you Fred."

George's reflection smiled, tears in his eyes, "Thanks Georgie."

They sat for a while, talking about what all had happened, and even though Fred knew it all, he still listened as George told the stories excitedly.

Finally, Fred interrupted the talking, "Hey George? If you could wish for anything, what would it be?"

George laughed, "Besides you being here again, beside me and not in a mirror?" Fred nodded, "Then id wish for Tomorrow to never come."

Fred, or rather George's reflection frowned, "But why? Tomorrow brings so much! Why would you wish it never came?"

George smiled sadly, "Because I already know what it will bring."

Fred shook his head, still confused, "But you used to always want tomorrow to come."

George laughed and walked up to the mirror, "Well I changed my mind."

"Why?"

George sighed, "Because I already know that when tomorrow comes, I'll lose you again."

Fred frowned sadly, "I'm always going to be here George, for as long as you need me, just I won't always be here like this. I'm gone now George, just a memory."

He walked up to George, "Just a figment of your imagination."

They both reached to touch the mirror, in some vain hope that they could touch once more and George could have sworn he felt heat that wasn't his when they did, "Just here to tell you what Fred would have if he were here."

George couldn't look at his own reflection anymore as he spoke, "Which is what?"

He didn't see it but the reflection let a tear fall as he smiled, "To be happy and live for the day, not for the Tomorrow."

"Goodbye George."

When George looked back at the mirror, it was just his normal reflection, copying his every move.

He clenched his fists and thought of Fred's words, "You're a right git you know that Fred? A right git for leaving me here. But you're right, I love you Fred."

He rushed from the room, grabbing the ring that had been sitting on his dresser for the last six months as he did.

He rushed first to Ginny's apartment where as soon as she opened the door, he pulled her into a bone crushing hug, "Its ok Gin, you don't have to be sad anymore, he would want us to be happy."

Surprised at first, Ginny didn't respond for a moment before she broke into shaking sobs and held him just as close as he held her.

After he was sure Ginny was ok they went to go find Ron. They found him slumped in his apartment, clutching his head, holding in tears with Hermione standing over him, looking worried.

Fred promptly smacked him upside the head and when Ron looked up in anger, George enveloped him in a hug as he had with Ginny, "You need to move on Ron, he wants you to move on. Its ok now, he wants us to be happy again."

Ron nodded after a moment and stood straighter than he had since the night his brother had fallen.

George then went to find Percy, finding him at the ministry, dark circles under his eyes and tired. When Percy saw George, his eyes filled, as they always did with guilt.

Before he could say anything, George crushed him in a hug, "I don't blame you, he doesn't blame you, and no one blames you for what happened to him, so stop blaming yourself. Lighten up Perce."

When he pulled away, Percy opened his mouth to protest George's words but George interrupted him, "He'd be happy if you just learned to smile d=from time to time. Besides, what brother wouldn't be proud that it was his brother who rebuilt the ministry?"

Percy gaped at George before finally letting a little smile slip onto his face, "Guess you have a point…"

George clapped him on the shoulder, "When were we ever wrong?"

George then found Charlie and Bill, both at Bill's house, looking after George's first ever niece, Victoire.

They were surprised to see George all the way out at the Shell Cottage but greeted him either way what startled them even more though is when George spoke;

"Charlie. I think you should go back to working with dragons, I mean that is bloody flippin cool and it'd be a real shame if we didn't have our own personal dragon guy around. And Bill, congrats on the baby, brother, I mean really, we're all proud of you. Mum's been wanting a grand for a while now I know."

They stared at him for a while before breaking into huge grins and hugging him, "Thanks little brother."

They all laughed and may or may not have shed some very manly tears but if they did then who cared.

Then he went to the Burrow. When he got there, the whole family was gathered, waiting for him or for something but they're were there and they were waiting.

He smiled, a real smile and went up to his Mum and Dad, "Mum, Dad, I spoke to Fred today and he wanted you to know…. That so long as all of us are happy," he gestured all around him, "and as long as you are happy, he's happy. He doesn't want us to be sad anymore, got bloody furious with me actually. So I wanted to tell you both… to smile with me again."

As he spoke, his words grew choked as he realized these were quite literally his brother's last words that he was passing on. The ones he never got to say, the ones that really, hardly anyone ever got to say, ever even got to put on paper.

These were his last words to all of them, this was his way of parting, of moving on. And as sad as he was to realize that, his heart swelled with joy, true joy, for the first time since his brother had died as he thought of his brother being happy again.

That was all he needed to turn to the girl e had seen as he had walked in.

Angelina was standing by the door with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. She gave a little wave to him as he turned and locked eyes with her and without another thought to urge himself otherwise, George strode across the room and kissed her hard.

When he was done he pulled away and dropped to one knee in front of her, "Angelina, there was one more thing that Fred told me and that was for me to swallow my fear and just propose to you, so Angelina, dear, will you marry me?"

He didn't even need her to speak to know her answer was yes as her head bobbed up and down and she lost all dignity as she dropped down with him and hugged him closely as she broke down into hysterical sobs.

The next day, in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, there wasn't a soul who couldn't help but think that George seemed more cheerful than he had in quite some time as he went from one side to the other, helping people with their selections.

And twelve years later, when his twins, Fred and Roxanne, went to Hogwarts, they all noticed the gleam in his eye as he told them to cause trouble for him.

They all also noticed how, when they had left, he had turned to the plaque of his brother he had hanging by the counter, in remembrance of his brother and fist bump frame.


End file.
